


Sweethearts Drabbles

by missjo



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 13:22:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1186890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missjo/pseuds/missjo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabbles that chronicle Thomas and Jimmy's relationship over time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweethearts Drabbles

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine’s Day, my fellow Thommy fans! I did a… thing. These are 10 prompts that all connect together and I got all of them from randomly selected Sweethearts Message Hearts. I hope you enjoy!

_01 - Be My Friend_

 

> _“But I’d like it if we could be friends”  
>   
>  “Right you are, Mr. Barrow. If that’s all I think I could manage that.”_

They had become friends, much to Thomas’s surprise, in the months following the Thirsk fair. At first it was stilted and awkward while they put up carefully placed boundaries. Jimmy was never too friendly, Thomas never touched Jimmy, and they never discussed The Incident. Once these things were established their friendship seemed to take root and blossom into a beautiful but heart wrenching thing.

For Thomas still loved Jimmy. He loved the way the sun caught his golden hair when they went for walks together, he loved the sneer that twisted his expressive face whenever he made a derisive comment about one of the staff, but most especially he loved when Jimmy would smile at him. Not the fake ones he used on anyone he thought needed charming but a true, honest smile that lit him up from the inside out.

All of the heartache that came from being his friend didn’t matter when Jimmy was giving him one of those rare smiles, like he was now.

“C’mon, Mr. Barrow! Keep up!” Jimmy was exclaiming over his shoulder as he hurried along the path to their favorite pond. Thomas dropped his spent cigarette and hurried after him. And Jimmy’s golden hair was glowing in the sun and everything, in that moment, was perfect.

 

_02 - Heart Breaker_

 

Jimmy had followed Thomas’s advice and started courting a girl from the village. Her name was Beth and she was just on the naughty side of sweet. She had raven hair and a nose that was just a little too strong to truly call her pretty but she had a wicked laugh and an even wickeder mouth so Jimmy liked her well enough.

Beth would let him kiss her and put his hand on her thigh. Once she had let him touch her breast which had been strange but nice enough.

“When’s yer next half day?” she asked him, pulling away from the kiss they were sharing in the hayloft of her father’s barn.

“Next week but me and Thomas are—”

“Thomas?” her mischevious eyes lit up. “You go on and on about this Thomas. Can I meet him?”

“Er. He’s sort of a private… sort.”

She pouted and trailed a finger tip up his thigh. “Oh please? I’ll give you somethin’ for your trouble.”

“Oh, alright, I’ll see what I can do,” Jimmy replied with a roll of his eyes. She slid one thigh around his and pressed their bodies close as they kissed again. Jimmy was never one to miss an opportunity.

* * *

Jimmy returned late to supper. Carson was already up in the dining room but Thomas was waiting for him with a glare sharp as daggers. “Y’late,” he drawled when Jimmy came through the door looking significantly worse for wear. “Carson’s goin’ to give you an earful and I won’t do nothin’ to stop it. Where were you?”

“In the village,” Jimmy replied curtly as he changed into his formal dinner vest.

“In the village?” Thomas repeated and gave him a once over. An expression flickered over his face so quickly that Jimmy didn’t have time to try and interpret it. “What’s so important in the village to keep you there for  _hours_?”

Jimmy pulled on his gloves. “Beth.”

Thomas snorted. “I doubt she’s worth gettin’ sacked over.”

“What would you know?” Jimmy retorted with a sneer. “You’ve chosen the celibate lot. Well I haven’t and I plan to make a go of her. If y’weren’t so—”

“Weren’t so what, Jimmy?” Thomas asked, his voice just above a cool whisper.

Jimmy paused. “I’d better be goin’—”

“No. Finish your sentence. Then you can go.”

“If y’weren’t so bloody in love with me,” Jimmy spat out. “If you could just be _normal_ —”

The smacked look on Thomas’s face made Jimmy’s guts twist up and his heart freeze in his chest. The lovesick look on his face was enough to make anyone sick, Jimmy thought.

“If you weren’t so bloody in love with me we’d both be a lot better off.”

Jimmy stalked off without looking back to see Thomas’s expression. The heavy feeling in his own chest felt suspiciously like his own heart was breaking.

 

_03 - Star Eyes_

 

Ever since their altercation a week ago Jimmy had walked on eggshells around Thomas. If he heard one more apology from the other man’s lips Thomas might actually be sick. He had told the lad again and again that he forgave him. He had been hurt by what Jimmy had said but he was glad now to know the truth of Jimmy’s feelings regarding their friendship.

“Mr. Barrow?”

Thomas looked up from where he sat in the rocking chair smoking his cigarette. Jimmy was all anxious, fidgety energy. His eyes kept darting around the room before they returned to Thomas’s face. Seeing the guilt writ large in them weakened Thomas’s resolve.

“Yes, Jimmy?” he asked with a labored sigh.

“I was wonderin’… if we might have a walk? It’s nice out tonight,” Jimmy asked in a wavering voice. It was the voice Thomas could never refuse.

He put his cigarette out in the ashtray he had delicately balanced in one hand and stood up. “Why not?”

They walked along in silence for awhile. Thomas had nothing to say and Jimmy seemed to be avoiding whatever it was he had asked him out for.

Finally Jimmy stopped walking. “I’m ever so sorry, Mr. Barrow, about what I said.”

Thomas sighed and turned to him. “I know, Jimmy, you’ve said that already. And I’ve forgiven you. What’s more to be said on it?”

Jimmy shook his head. “You’re still sore with me.”

“I’m not sore,” Thomas told him with another sigh and lit up a cigarette.

“You are though.”  
  
“I am not. I’m trying to listen to what you said. I… I’m trying to stop being in love with you,” he told him simply, holding his gaze for a moment before they both looked away. “Hard to do with you around all the time.”

“Oh.” Jimmy bit his lip. “But we’re still… friends?”

Thomas almost laughed. “Sure, Jimmy, we’re still friends.”

The relief in Jimmy’s face and voice was palpable. “So we’ll be okay again?”

Thomas looked over at him and saw the worry, hope, and relief all warring across Jimmy’s face. It was then that Thomas truly knew his fate; he would never stop loving Jimmy, not ever, despite the cruel things he said, and he would never be able to deny him anything.

“Yes, Jimmy, we’ll be okay.”

Jimmy smiled one of his magical smiles. Thomas noticed the stars reflecting in his eyes and managed a small smile of his own. They would be okay.

 

_04 - Kiss Me Again_

 

Jimmy was turning 28 tomorrow. Thomas had invited him out on one of their walks after dinner to their favorite pond. It was a clear night and when Jimmy looked up he could see all the stars in the heavens above them.

“I got you somethin’,” Thomas spoke into the easy quiet between them.

Jimmy looked over at him but Thomas’s gaze was focused on the stars. “My birthday isn’t until tomorrow, Mr. Barrow.”

Thomas shrugged and stubbed out his cigarette. “May not have time to give it to you tomorrow. Won’t you be spending the day in the village?”

Jimmy’s throat felt tight. “I suppose so, yes.”

“Quite so.” Thomas pulled a small, hastily wrapped package from his coat pocket and handed it to him.

Jimmy opened it quickly and found the hat he had been eyeing the last time they’d been in Thirsk together. Inside it was a lighter. He lifted it up and squinted at it in the moonlight.

“Thomas!” he exclaimed, his heart leaping into his throat. “This is your lighter. But why—”

“You’re always fiddlin’ with it and it doesn’t mean much to me nowadays. I survived the war a long time ago, Jimmy,” Thomas explained, his voice sounding tight.

Jimmy wanted to cry. “No. This is  _your_  lighter, Thomas.”

“I stole it off a deadman, y’know that. Take it. I want you to have—”  
  
“Somethin’ to remember you by?” Jimmy finished for him and felt his heart seize in his chest. “Y’going somewhere?”

Thomas frowned. “I might be.” Jimmy stared at him aghast for a moment before he continued. “I need to move on, Jimmy. I need to stop…”

“I told you forever ago to forget what I said. I didn’t mean it. You don’t have to go—”

“But I do, Jimmy. You’ll be marrying Beth within the year, won’t you?” Jimmy stared at him in disbelief. “Well you’ll have to or she’ll throw you over. It’s the next logical step f’you and I can’t stand by and watch that. I can’t.”

Thomas’s usually controlled voice was shaking as he spoke and Jimmy stared as the moonlight caught the silver at his temple. It felt as if his stomach had bottomed out and he couldn’t breathe for the squeezing in his chest.

“I don’t  _want_  to marry Beth and I don’t want you to leave me,” he stated, his voice watery from the tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

“Jimmy—”

“Oh,  _Thomas_ ,” Jimmy breathed out as he reached his penultimate revelation. He grabbed the lapels of his coat and dragged the older man against him before pressing his mouth against his in a clumsy, insistent kiss. “Don’t leave me,” he whimpered against his mouth.

Thomas pulled back and stared at him with wide eyes. “But, Jimmy—”

Jimmy shoved the lighter into his hand. “Keep that. You’re staying.”  
  
“But, Jimmy—”

“It’s my birthday, Mr. Barrow, and you will kiss me again. Properly, this time,” Jimmy commanded and pressed their mouths together to silence any objections.

 

_05 - One Love_

 

They had got away from Downton, both of them, before Jimmy turned thirty. They had pulled some money together, mostly Thomas’s, and set off to live in a dingy flat in London. Thomas worked at the clockmaker’s shop down on the corner and Jimmy worked at a pub only a few blocks away.

Thomas sat and watched as Jimmy put jam on his toast across the table from him. Jimmy glanced up at him and gave him one of his rare sweet smiles.

“Somethin’ on my face?” he asked warmly, his voice still thick from sleep.

He was about to retort and held it back. Not on this particular morning. Birds were singing outside their window and he had the day off so they could spend the morning together. It was too perfect for retorts.

“No,” he said with a sigh and sipped his tea. “Are you happy, Jimmy?”

Jimmy’s toast stopped halfway on the journey to his mouth and he looked over at Thomas with an incredulous expression. “What’s brought this on, then? Have I been more insufferable than usual?”

Thomas blushed and looked down at his tea. “No. I just… wanted to be sure, is all.”

“Yes, Thomas, I’m very happy,” Jimmy told him with a genuinely kind smile and took a bite of his toast.

Thomas felt his heart swell in his chest as he returned it. He had never pictured himself here. Once he had pictured himself having far off adventures with a Duke but never this. And yet this was better than any adventure with a Duke. This was burnt toast in the mornings and arguing over how much Jimmy had spent on poker; this was long, luxurious lovemaking in the afternoon and Jimmy stealing all the covers in the middle of the night so they had to cuddle close for warmth. He’d had many loves in his lifetime but this was the one love that had been able to bring him bliss.

 

_06 - Sweet As Honey_

 

Jimmy Kent hated Thomas Barrow. Truly hated him as he lay panting on the bed spread out beneath him. It was Thomas’s birthday and on his birthday Thomas got what he wanted. Apparently what he wanted was torture.

“Thomas,  _please_ …” Jimmy moaned desperately.

Thomas chuckled and dribbled a line of honey from Jimmy’s bellybutton to just before his throbbing cock. “Almost there, Jimmy,” he told him in a low tone and slid down his body to run his tongue over the sweet, sticky substance.

Jimmy truly was going to die from not being fucked. He just knew it.

Thomas was running his fingers around Jimmy’s nipple and his other hand was massaging the warm skin of his inner thigh. He gasped and rolled his hips wantonly forward, silently begging for Thomas to just  _get on with it already_.

Honey was spread along his cock. Thomas lapped at it teasingly from base to tip.

“Ohgod… I can’t… Thomas please… m’going mad,” Jimmy moaned and gripped the bed frame with both hands to stop himself from tearing Thomas’s hair from his scalp as he swirled his tongue around the tip.

Finally, ever so slowly, Thomas sank down and wrapped his mouth around Jimmy’s sticky-sweet cock. Jimmy threw his head back with a wanton moan and then everything whited out.

Later, when they were sprawled on their bed sticky and spent Jimmy traced patterns gently on Thomas’s stomach. Thomas kissed the top of his head and he sighed in contentment.

He lifted his head to smirk at him. “So, how old are we today, Mr. Barrow? You must be near  _ancient_  by now,” he drawled and earned himself a firm slap on the rear.

“Not too old to bugger you good and proper,” Thomas replied dryly.

Jimmy wiggled and had to nod at that. “Not ancient then. Just old.”

Thomas smacked him again. “Not so old,” he said with a sniff.

Jimmy finally gave in and laid his head back down on his chest, pressing a kiss to the warm skin there. “Right you are, Mr. Barrow.”

 

_07 - Shining Star_

 

Jimmy had managed to charm his way into having a full day off that aligned with Thomas’s and they had decided to take the day in Brighton. They had walked on the beach and Jimmy had even convinced him to put his feet in the water. They had eaten penny-licks and walked all the shops.

Now that the sun was setting it was time for them to catch their train. Jimmy had insisted a quick walk on the beach first and Thomas, of course, had acquiesced.

It did feel nice to hold Jimmy’s hand as they walked now that the dusk covered them. The moon and stars looked massive against the cool flat of the ocean beneath them as they watched the night sky.

“Thomas! Look!” Jimmy exclaimed, with the excitement of a man much younger than his years, and raised his free hand to point at a falling ball of light. “I’ve never seen a shooting star before.”

“Me neither,” he replied and squeezed Jimmy’s hand. “Did you make a wish?”

Jimmy nodded and bumped Thomas’s shoulder with his own. “What about you, Thomas?”

Thomas gave him a private little smile. “That would be telling.”

Jimmy scoffed. “D’you want to know what I wished for?”

“Haven’t you ever heard that jinxes a wish?”

“I don’t care for all that rubbish,” Jimmy replied with a derisive snort. “I wished for this always. With you.” He squeezed Thomas’s hand.

Thomas’s entire face warmed and he had to look away from him. “What’s got you all soppy, then?” he asked dismissively.

“Salt air must mess with my head,” Jimmy told him lightly and walked on. “We’d best be gettin’ back. London calls us, Mr. Barrow.”

Thomas pulled Jimmy back towards him by the hand. “I enjoyed it too. Today, I mean.”

Jimmy gave him a light laugh and a smile. “I’m glad.” He gave him a quick kiss on the lips and then let his hand go. “Now come on, y’beggar, or we’ll never make the train.”

They hurried on together to the train and then home to London. Thomas spent nights and days after remembering the sun on Jimmy’s golden skin and the way it had reflected in his hair as the salty air blew through it. He secretly hoped Jimmy’s wish would come true.

 

_08 - I Love You_

 

Thomas lay on their bed, cheeks flushed red with fever and chest heaving with every breath. Jimmy was currently stuck between pacing and sitting on the bed beside him to hold his hand. Thomas had been sick for a week. The doctor had said something about an infection in the lungs and given him some medicine that might help. He had even reassured Jimmy that Thomas would most likely be alright if he just had some rest but Jimmy had seen similar things take others he loved from him. Every moment Thomas remained ill he got more and more restless.

That morning Thomas had  _assured_  him that he was feeling much better and had even eaten the toast Jimmy brought him but when he’d returned on his lunch break he’d found him like, well,  _this_. He’d rang for the doctor, of course, only to be told there was nothing to be done but to wait and see.

He was pressing a cool, damp cloth to Thomas’s forehead with one hand and holding his wounded hand in the other. He threaded their fingers together and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“There now, Thomas, enough of this. It’s me who’s one for dramatics, not you,” he scolded him firmly, voice quivering at the edges. “The doctor reassured me you’ll be alright so this seems an awful fuss for nothing.”

When Thomas didn’t respond Jimmy let out a groan of frustration and raised his hand to his mouth. The skin was frighteningly warm beneath his lips.

“C’mon, love, you’re starting to frighten me,” he whispered and pressed the back of Thomas’s hand adoringly to his cheek. “Come on now.”

It was hours before Thomas finally opened his eyes. His breathing had mellowed and his fever seemed less but he looked so incredibly tired and, well, old when he looked over at Jimmy that fear seized his chest. He had never thought of Thomas as old before. He firmly vowed never to do so again.

“Jimmy?” he asked through parched, dry lips, his voice hoarse. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

Jimmy shook his head and rested his forehead against Thomas’s shoulder in relief. “Oh thank God,” he murmured into the still warm, damp skin. He slid down to lay beside him and hold him properly. “Thank you, thank you, God.”

“Hey now, what’s this?” Thomas asked with wide eyes.

Jimmy shook his head again and closed his eyes.

“Jimmy?”

He blinked back tears bred from worry and exhaustion. “You were out for  _hours_ , Thomas, and I couldn’t get you to wake up,” he told him all in a rush. “Never, ever, scare me like that again.”

Thomas tried to laugh but it came out as a dry, hoarse cough.

“Always one for the overdramatics,” he joked lovingly and ran his fingers lazily through Jimmy’s hair. “There was no need to get so worked up over me.”  
  
“Of course there was, you daft idiot. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Jimmy mumbled into Thomas’s shoulder and rested his hand on his chest, taking comfort in his heartbeat.

“Shhh… don’t talk that way. Don’t ever talk that way, love,” he replied and pressed a kiss to Jimmy’s hair. “Hush now.”

They slept for a little while curled up in bed together. Jimmy woke frantically from a nightmare and hurried to feel Thomas’s heart beating away in his chest. The flurry of movement woke Thomas up. He groaned and peered over at Jimmy in the dark.

“Jimmy?”

“I dreamt you— Thomas Barrow, I love you so much. Never leave me,” Jimmy gasped out and pressed a chaste kiss to Thomas’s chapped lips.

“I’ll do me best,” he grunted in reply and held Jimmy close until they both drifted off to sleep again.

 

_09 - Always Forever_

 

Thomas’s cough didn’t go away even in the months that followed The Scare, as Jimmy liked to call it. The doctor told him again and again that it wouldn’t go away without good, clean air and a place to rest — none of which London could give him. Talk like that made him feel old. Thomas hated feeling old.

Jimmy had taken to nursing him until Thomas would snap at him to back off and let a grown man take care of himself. The wounded look on Jimmy’s face would always make him feel guilty and he’d instantly apologize for his temper.

One morning he woke up from a dream of sea breeze and sun in Jimmy’s hair and an idea took root in his mind. He let it fester there for a few days, turning it over and over again, until he finally settled on it.

He came home that night to see Jimmy making dinner. Between the two of them they’d managed to cobble up some recipes even they couldn’t manage to screw up and, by the smell of it, this was one of them. He was grateful; he was feeling much too tired to go out for dinner.

Thomas snuck up behind him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Jimmy tensed for a few seconds in surprise before melting against him.

“Welcome home, Mr. Barrow,” he greeted warmly with a smirk. “Fancy some stew?”

Thomas pressed a kiss to the warm curve of his neck and breathed in his scent. “Mmm. Smells good,” he murmured and left one final kiss there before pulling away. “I have something I want to talk over with you.”

“Mm?” Jimmy sat down at their rickety little table expectantly.

“I was thinking on what the doctor said,” Thomas started delicately and sat down across from him. “About my needin’ rest and fresh air?”

Jimmy snorted. “‘Bout time, y’beggar.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “I was  _thinkin’_ about moving to Brighton.” Silence descended in the kitchen and Jimmy just stared at him. When it was obvious Jimmy wasn’t going to get there on his own he continued. “I was thinkin’ about moving to Brighton. I was  _wondering_  if you’d come with me.”

Jimmy beamed at him. “Always, Mr. Barrow. Always.”

 

_10 - Please Say Yes_

 

Jimmy was very proud of himself this morning. There were numerous reasons but mostly he was proud because he had somehow managed to wake up before Thomas. He took his time that morning watching him sleep. His hair was almost all silver now, which Jimmy secretly loved but feared commenting on, and though his face was more lined it was relaxed in slumber. There was a particularly patchy bit of stubble that Jimmy desperately wanted to kiss.

When he was younger Jimmy had never thought his life would turn out this way but as he lay there with his heart overflowing with love for this man he knew it was better than whatever he’d thought all those years ago. He brushed a stray strand of hair behind Thomas’s ear and chuckled softly to himself over how soppy he was being. Then realized he truly didn’t care.

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the shell of his ear. “Thomas…” he murmured into it gently, running a hand slowly down his chest.

Thomas groaned and shifted, mumbling something in his sleep. He wrapped an arm around Jimmy’s waist and tugged him closer, burrowing into the curve of his neck. Jimmy smiled.

“Get up, lazy beggar,” he half-laughed, running his fingers through his hair. “Today is an important day. Wouldn’t do to sleep through it.”

“Wasso ‘mportant ‘bout it?” Thomas grumbled.

“It’s our anniversary,” he told him plainly.

Thomas pulled back and looked at him blearily. “Our wha’? We have an anniversary?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Course we do, Thomas. Don’t y’remember? The night before my birthday when I kissed you.”

“Never celebrated it before,” Thomas replied with a pout and sat up, attempting to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

“No. Usually my birthday is much more important,” Jimmy said with a smirk and sat up himself. Thomas rolled his eyes. “But I’m turnin’ forty tomorrow and… that made it more important somehow.”

Thomas blinked at him. “Riiiiight. You had to wake me up for this?”

Jimmy nodded. “Before I lose my nerve. Stay there.”

Jimmy stumbled from the bed and returned with a package he had been hiding in his coat pocket. He plopped down beside him and handed the box over without ceremony.

“Well.  _Open_  it. Before I get old n’ die,” Jimmy chastised him, bouncing up and down on the bed and trying to still the racing of his heart.

Thomas opened the box and found the two rings nestled inside. They were plain silver, nothing too fancy, but just one look made it obvious what they were meant to be.

“Jimmy— I—” Thomas looked at them with wide eyes and then turned his gaze to Jimmy. “What are these?”

Jimmy bit back a retort. “They’re— will you— ugh,” Jimmy stopped and started before giving up and running his fingers through his messy bedhead. “You truly are going to make me ask it, aren’t you?”

Thomas just stared at him. “Not sure what you’re going t’ask, Jimmy,” he finally said, his voice very quiet.

Jimmy took a deep breath and decided to just jump right in. “Will you marry me, Mr. Barrow?”

“I— What— Jimmy—”

“Not exactly the answer I was lookin’ for,” Jimmy said with a wince and went to take the box back. “Maybe it was a stupid idea.”

“ _No_. No, Jimmy, stop.” Thomas put a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder to still him. “It’s just that, well, we can’t get married. Not properly, anyway.”

Jimmy smirked at him. “Since when have we ever done things proper, Thomas?”

“We couldn’t possibly wear them.”

“Sure we could. We’re leaving for Brighton next week. And we’re old enough now to pass as two romantic old widowers with only each other for company, I think,” Jimmy told him, slowly sliding into his space and wrapping his arms around Thomas’s shoulders. “C’mon, Thomas, marry me.” He kissed his temple, the tip of his nose, his chin, and finally brought their mouths together.

“Jimmy, are you sure—”

Jimmy snorted. “After twelves years with you? You’re daft if you think I’m not sure, and no mistake. Now stop talking unless it’s to say you will.”

The most beautiful blush bloomed on Thomas’s cheeks as he looked down and away from Jimmy, suddenly bashful. It wasn’t that Jimmy had never seen him bashful but it was a rare sight and all the sweeter for it. “Alright then, Jimmy.”

“What was that? Look at me and say it clear, Thomas Barrow, or so help me—”

Thomas looked up at him and smiled. “I’ll marry you, Jimmy, if you’re fool enough to have me.”

Jimmy laughed out loud and smacked his mouth against his. “I am so the fool, Thomas, now kiss me again.”

And Thomas did.


End file.
